Tooth extraction tools are will known and have been in use for many years. For example, a U.S. Pat. No. 2,777,198 of Wallace discloses a tooth extraction device which provides a minimum danger of injury to the tooth or to the jaw of a patient. The device uses a pair of forceps which are connected to an arm. Then after the forceps are engaged with a tooth, a motor is activated to transmit a high frequency vibration through the forceps to the tooth. The vibration causes the breaking down of the tissue surrounding the tooth so that slight upward or downward movement of the arm removes the tooth from an upper or lower dental arch.
A more recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,454 of Lococo discloses a tooth extractor that utilizes a vice type grip member having a joint member engaged by a forked end of a lever. The lever has a convexly curved fulcrum surface that rests against a planar base plate located on a patient's teeth that are adjacent to the tooth that is to be extracted. The grip member has two hemispherical tips for engaging correspondingly shaped indentations drilled in the buccal and lingual side of the tooth.
A more recent approach to the removal of teeth is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 7,303,395 of Hornig et al. As disclosed an extractor has a first and a second lever and a first and second branch pivotably connected to each other by a hinge. A rod for mechanically and manually adjusting the first and second levers is provided. An extracting part includes at least one resistance element for anchoring the tooth and includes a first support for coupling with a receiving part of the first branch. A second support is placed against the extractor and has an opening for the extracting part.
Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there is a need for an improved device for facilitating the extraction of a tooth and a potential commercial market for a tooth extraction tool in accordance with the present invention. There should be a demand and a commercial market for such devices because such devices significantly reduce the muscular strength required to extract a tooth and therefore reduce the stress and fatigue of a dentist as well as the stress on a patient. In addition, the cost for a dental extraction tool in accordance with the present invention is a relatively small cost in view of its advantages and the tool itself is relatively durable. Further, the device in accordance with the present invention should reduce the likelihood of crushing a tooth as well as problems associated with removing the roots and pieces of a crushed tooth.
Further, the tools in accordance with the present invention expand on the motion applied by the forceps to luxate or loosen teeth and expand the socket of the tooth. Further, the apical pressure results in minimal movement of the tooth in an apical direction and exposure of the tooth socket by the break down in the periodontal ligament space. In addition, the fulcrum, the center of the tooth's movement is placed more apically and decreases the likelihood of fracturing the root. This results in expansion of the buccal plate and lingual apical pressure aimed at expanding the lingual crestal structure. Advantageously the linear pressure moves the tooth which causes some internal expansion of the tooth socket (single conical roots).